Am I the only one that has a weird connection to a place despite barely having any sort of connection to it? That’s how I feel about New York. I didn’t grow up there, I’ve never lived there, and until very recently I didn’t have any friends that lived there. However every time I go there (which is about once a year for a hockey game) I strangely feel at home. I guess I always thought I’d end up there since that seemed to be what people who grew up in suburban Connecticut did. Instead I bucked the trend, and went north. Though every time I come into the City, I get a strange sense of belonging. Who knows? Maybe I will end up in Manhattan some day. But for now, yearly weekend (or long weekend) trips will have to suffice.

What does that weird ode to New York have to do with this week’s drink? It inspired me to go looking in the New York City Cocktails book for some inspiration and I came across the Big Iron. It is as easy as a drink can be. Just whiskey, two types of bitters and garnish. I’m already a fan of rye and lemon, so this drink from The Shanty at NY Distilling Co. seemed like a no brainer to make. Despite not having New York rye, I think it will be just as good:

Big Iron

2 oz. Mister Kat’s Rock Rye (I used Bulleit)

1 dash Angostura Bitters

1 dash Orange Bitters

Stir ingredients over ice and strain into a rocks/Old Fashioned glass filled with ice. Garnish with broad orange and lemon twists

The nose is all citrus. The lemon and orange peels compliment each other nicely. They also completely cover up the whiskey and bitters aroma as well, so nothing harsh here at all. It is quite pleasant actually.

The sip however, is the complete opposite. It is all whiskey, all the time. Which makes total sense since short of two dashes of bitters, there is only whiskey at play here. Of which I am totally fine with. I like stronger drinks and this is right in that wheelhouse. Though I will say I was hoping for a bit more citrus-y zip here. As mentioned above, I do enjoy rye and lemon and that is where my mind went to when looking up the ingredients here. So maybe next time I’ll add some thin slices of fruit, as opposed to the lemon/orange twists instead.

Also I looked up the proprietary rye used here. The rock & rye style whiskey is sweetened with crystalized sugar so the spiciness of the rye is hedged a bit, and I’m curious to see how much of an edge the rock takes out of the normal rye flavor profile. I think I need to obtain a bottle and do some experimentation…for science. In the meantime, If you want to have straight rye, try making the Big Iron to change it up a bit. You still get the straight whiskey you’re looking for but with a nice little extra flavor boost.